Chapter One Hundred and Fifteen: The Karl Family

On the outskirts of New York, near the border of Queens, this place lay far from the bustling city life, yet it offered a tranquil comfort all its own.

Nestled within the embrace of verdant forest, an old Western-style manor stood on a cleared patch of land, casting a gentle, shifting shadow under the afternoon sun.

A helicopter arrived directly from Washington, its rotors stirring up dust and fallen leaves as it slowly descended onto the clearing before the manor. Such a commotion naturally drew the attention of those inside.

As the cabin door opened, Kyle stepped down from the rear seat with Yutong. At a sudden cry, a striking woman rushed out from the manor’s entrance, eagerly leaping into his arms.

“Kyle, you’ve finally come back.”

“Lucy,” Kyle smiled, a rare softness gracing his handsome features. He inhaled the scent of her golden hair and, turning, drew her delicate form closer to him.

Ahead, Logan, dressed in denim, appeared at the manor’s entrance, leaning casually against the steps of the multi-story building. He lit a cigarette with a smile.

“Howard. I’m home. Want to come inside for a bit?” Kyle called back to the helicopter pilot.

Howard smiled but declined gently. “You just got back. Spend some time with your family. I’ll come find you in a few days.”

“No problem,” Kyle nodded. There were countless plans to discuss with Howard, but none urgent at this moment.

What mattered now was to assess how well Logan had handled the test mission.

With one arm around Lucy’s waist and the other gesturing for Yutong to follow, Kyle approached the manor. Logan glanced away nervously, stubbed out his cigarette, and returned inside ahead of them.

Hmm? What was going on with Logan?

Kyle was quietly surprised but soon understood.

Inside the manor’s main building, subdued yet lavish classical chandeliers illuminated the space, furnished elegantly with over a dozen rooms of various sizes.

Three girls, about fourteen years old and dressed as maids, were cleaning. Seeing Logan at the front, Lucy holding Kyle’s arm with Yutong beside her, prepared to greet Logan as the manor’s master.

“Wait. This is the actual master here,” Logan said coldly, waving toward Kyle and speaking in a low voice.

The three girls paused, shyly lowering their heads in salute. “M-Master of the house.”

“All right,” Kyle smiled and nodded. Suddenly, as if noticing something, his gaze shifted toward a room from which the soft voices of many children could be heard.

Lucy smiled and led Kyle closer to the doorway, revealing a room set up as a classroom, complete with a teacher’s desk and blackboard. A man wearing sunglasses was giving a security lesson, while over thirty children around eight years old listened attentively.

Logan stepped forward, resigned. “Boss, I’ll explain everything to you.”

“Take your time. I’m actually very curious. Initially, you kept dodging the task to adopt ten children, and now you’ve voluntarily exceeded that number.” Kyle blinked, somewhat amazed at how quickly Logan had adapted.

Uncle Wolf, what happened to your pride as a combatant? You’ve really become a caregiver, haven’t you?

On the second floor of the manor was the master’s conference room.

Kyle and Lucy sat on a large sofa with Yutong, while Logan sat apart, beginning his report.

In summary, Logan had originally followed the mission plan: bribing the orphanage director to adopt ten children. But he discovered evidence of child abuse by the staff, couldn’t help but intervene, accidentally killed those staff members, and largely destroyed the orphanage itself.

With the orphanage gone, Logan took it upon himself to bring all the children from the yard back to the manor.

There were thirty-two children between eight and ten years old, whom he considered trainable. The remaining eight, all above ten years old, were assigned daily chores around the manor.

“The war orphans, though young, are very sensible and obedient. The over-ten group doesn’t meet the mission’s age criteria, but they’re good as household staff,” Logan said awkwardly, aware that he had violated the mission’s conditions.

“I have no objections,” Kyle nodded. “Your approach cannot be called wrong. Forty children—neither too many nor too few—just enough to form the foundation of a family’s power base.”

He paused, looking at Logan with a smile. “Also, I’m glad to see you finally let down your defenses and are willing to trust others.”

Lucy smiled in agreement. “That’s right. Uncle Logan is very popular with the kids here.”

Logan awkwardly scratched his nose. Indeed, he had experienced a different kind of life surrounded by these children.

“Back to the main point,” Kyle said thoughtfully, “Logan, why do you think I asked you to adopt so many orphans?”

“To cultivate talent for the Carl family,” Logan replied succinctly and firmly.

“Exactly. My vision for the Carl family is to become a transcendent, independent private organization, responsible for no global crises, answering only to my command,” Kyle said confidently.

Why choose orphans? Because of his ability to bestow power cards (blue quality and above, one per person), it didn’t matter whether his subordinates had potential or abilities; loyalty was paramount.

Children raised from a young age are easier to indoctrinate, creating dependency and trust, leading them to protect and obey the family wholeheartedly.

Otherwise, no matter how strong, like the future Shield or Kamatai, internal betrayal nearly brought them to ruin, almost fracturing them entirely.

“One thing you got wrong: I’m not cultivating talent, but ‘heroes’,” Kyle added. By heroes, he meant individuals with exceptional abilities.

In the Marvel universe, heroes must possess powers beyond ordinary humans—that’s basic knowledge.

In his future plans, the lowest-ranking members of the Carl family must at least match the combat abilities of the Black Widow or Hawkeye.

Otherwise, they don’t deserve to call themselves members of the Carl family.

“The children downstairs, once trained and tested, may be qualified to settle long-term in the family’s overseas territories as the lowest-level disciples. But you here are the core members of the Carl family,” Kyle’s gaze fell on Lucy, Logan, and Yutong.

Lucy, his fiancée, needed no introduction. Even the weakest ordinary person held a status far above others.

Logan and Yutong, both possessing mutant genes with rare blue abilities, could become the family’s pillars once granted a suitable power card.

A complete lineup of heroes—this was the true Carl family!